Lomé to host first cybersecurity summit in Africa this week

ITC

Monday, 21 March 2022 16:11

Lomé to host first cybersecurity summit in Africa this week

(Togo First) - Africa’s first cybersecurity summit will be held in Lomé this week, on March 23 and 24. Announced months ago, the summit was postponed because of the pandemic.

Co-organized by the Togolese Republic and the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the event will gather several African officials, and private actors operating in the IT security sector. They will discuss many topics, with cybersecurity and digital development experts. Among others, the Togolese Presidency said, participants, will explore innovative approaches to meet the challenges of cybersecurity on the continent, the challenges of cybersecurity in public policy, funding, and operationalization of cybersecurity strategies.

“Discussions will also focus on the challenges of cybersecurity at a time when biometric identification is emerging in Africa, and on the sideline of the implementation of a public-private partnership and synergies between the CERT (editor's note: Computer Emergency Response Team) and the SOC (editor's note: operational security center based in Lome), as well as the identification and implementation of key success factors to strengthen regional collaboration in cybersecurity,” the Presidency added.

Steered by the Togolese Ministry of Digital Economy and Technological Innovation, the upcoming summit also comes at a time when the Russia-Ukraine conflict is reviving interest in cybersecurity issues, with a spike in cyberattacks observed on the sidelines of military confrontations, according to several international sources.

The Togolese Cyber Defense

Togo's cybersecurity efforts include its National Cybersecurity Agency (ANCy), as well as a National Cybersecurity Incident Response Center (CERT) whose mission is to identify, analyze and mitigate cyber threats affecting the Togolese state, citizens, businesses, and organizations.

The country has entered into a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) with Poland's Asseco, for ASSECO Data Systems, to set up Cyber Defense Africa. This is a joint venture that provides services to defend Togo’s cyberspace and helps government agencies and private companies in the sub-region make their infrastructure safer.

Ayi Renaud Dossavi

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